We’re winding down in Istanbul. Tomorrow is our last day here. We’ve already picked our last restaurants and are planning pretty minor activities tomorrow such as returning to the Spice Market to amass a STDR (Strategic Turkish Delight Reserve) for Paris.
Today, we visited the last major site on our list of “must sees”: we spent the morning touring the Topkapı Palace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkap%C4%B1_Palace). It is the palace of the Ottoman Sultans, active in the 17th century. Like all good palaces, it’s filled with courtyards, trees, patios and surrounded by a high stone wall. It will be interesting to contrast 17th century Turkish Royalty with 17th century French Royalty beginning next later this week. I know already that the French Kings did not have a Harem, concubines or a staff of eunuch slaves. Then again, the Sultans did not have guillotines.
After walking through the courtyards (there are four), we toured some of the buildings including the Harem, which really means “forbidden” and was the private quarters for the Sultan’s wives, concubines and family. We also toured some of the museum areas which included some of the most significant relics of the Muslim world such as the Prophet Mohammad’s cloak and sword, the gold frame for the Black Stone in Mecca and other relics. There was lots of bling to see too, such as the 86 carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond and the Topkapı Dagger.
We were done by lunch. We abandoned restaurants and went to a grocery store to buy bread, cheese, drink etc. for a picnic lunch, which we had on the rooftop patio of our hotel. It was a beautiful sunny day of about 25C (75F). Great lunch.
After lunch we split up. Diane went shopping and I took the tram to the New City which is supposed to be a great place to stroll. I did not like it. Maybe it was just because if was Sunday, but the main drags was profoundly crowded. I made my way through the crowds and walked back home (probably an 8 mile walk) to rejoin Diane. Her afternoon was much more tranquil; she had shared tea with a nearby merchant and had purchased a small brightly colored bowl.
This evening we dined in Sultanahmet district in a nice sidewalk café. Diane had rice-something and I had a salad. Good.
No comments:
Post a Comment